The Colorado Rockies are off to an 8-5 start this season and added another win against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park Monday night. Here’s at look at the video highlights from the game.

Rockies all-star third baseman Nolan Arenado watches the action at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Ariz.(John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Nashville, Tenn. — While we wait to see if the Rockies will retool for the 2016 season, we do know how spring training sets up.

The Rockies will report to camp at Salt River Fields in mid-February, then begin Cactus League play on March 2 against the Diamondbacks.

Here is the release from the Rockies:

The Colorado Rockies announced their 32-game 2016 Cactus League schedule on Monday. The schedule features 16 home games and three road games at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona. The 2016 Cactus League season will be the club’s sixth year at the shared Spring Training facility with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community land.

Colorado opens their Spring Training schedule as the home team against Arizona at Salt River Fields on March 2. This will be the eighth consecutive season that the Rockies have opened their Cactus League slate against the Diamondbacks.

The schedule also includes a home game on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, vs. the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and a road game vs. the Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields on Easter Sunday, March 27. The Rockies will conclude their 2016 Spring Training schedule with a home game against the Seattle Mariners on April 2 before opening the 2016 regular season on Monday, April 4 vs. the Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix.

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado gets airborne over Los Angeles Dodgers’ Justin Turner, bottom, after forcing him out at second base during the fourth inning Sept. 15 at Dodger Stadium. (Danny Moloshok, The Associated Press)

The Rockies’ Nolan Arenado plays third base with 24-karat flair. On Tuesday, he will likely win his third consecutive Gold Glove.

This week, he won his first Fielding Bible Award — anointing him as not just the best third baseman in the National League, but as the best third baseman in the majors.

Here is how the Fielding Bible Awards described Arenado:

“His teammates gave him the nickname “Sharknado” because of his aggressive approach charging groundballs and his ability to make whirling throws to gobble up hitters at first base. … Arenado has been consistently superb defensively since arriving on the scene for the Rockies in 2013, saving 30, 16 and 18 runs in the three years he’s been in the majors.”

Arenado garnered 116 points in the voting, just four points shy of a perfect score of 120. Previous Fielding Bible Award winners, Adrian Beltre and Manny Machado, finishing second and third with 102 and 101 points, respectively.

It is said that it takes 16 weeks until you can throw a baseball after having Tommy John surgery.

Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Adam Ottavino, who had Tommy John surgery in May, documented his recovery. Ottavino takes you behind the scenes with his GoPro camera to show you what his rehab process looked like.

Scott Murayama, one of the Rockies trainers, worked with Ottavino everyday during his 16-week rehab.

Kansas City — Troy Tulowitzki almost made it back to the World Series.

He emerged from an injury and a postseason slump to deliver three big hits for the Blue Jays in the playoffs, but the Blue Jays lost the ALCS in six games to the Royals, who open the World Series here on Tuesday night.

Former Rockies star shortstop Troy Tulowtzki told reporters in Toronto that the trade to the Blue Jays was tough on him and his family.(Getty Images)

“Blue Jays’ Troy Tulowitzki never quite felt at home in Toronto this season after shocking trade left him feeling betrayed”

It’s an interesting read by John Lott. And it’s clear that Tulowitzki still harbors a lot of resentment about how the trade went down.

“You know what, and this is just being completely honest, it’s tough for me now to trust anybody in this game after what happened,” Tulo told a small group of reporters. “I’m sure these guys (in the Toronto front office) are great here. But at the same time, with what happened, it’s really tough.”

Though Tulo spent his offseasons in Las Vegas, he said he felt established in Colorado. Being uprooted, he said, was difficult for him, and also for his wife, Danyll, and their 21-month-old son, Taz.

“It’s been a tough year for me, to be honest,” Tulowitzki said. “Just with everything that went down with the trade. It threw me for a loop. It threw my family for a loop.

“I’m excited to go to spring training and get a fresh start with the team and be with these guys for a whole year and not have to worry about trade talks. The last three or four years I had to worry about it and talk about it every single day in Colorado. So, I’m looking forward to having a year where I don’t have to talk about it. It’s going to be great.”

Actually, that’s an exaggeration on Tulo’s part. He didn’t have to talk about being traded “every single day” for three or four years. And the truth is, Tulo brought some of that trade talk on himself.

Still, Tulo was always great to the Rockies beat writers and he’s a wonderful ballplayer. I hope he finds what he’s looking for with the Blue Jays.

The Rockies’ Carlos Gonzalez celebrates his three-run home run off of Taijuan Walker ff the Seattle Mariners with Nolan Arenado, left, and Drew Stubbs, right, during a game at Coors Field on Aug. 5, 2015 in Denver. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)

Carlos Gonzalez’s 2010 included enough hardware to make a carpenter jealous. He won the National League batting title, a Silver Slugger award, a Gold Glove and he finished third in the MVP race.

But the Rockies right fielder never played a better month until this season.

His tear through July — including 11 home runs, 24 RBI and an .841 slugging percentage — earned Gonzalez the National League player of the month award on Monday. It’s his first.

“This is what it’s all about — when you work hard and you see results,” Gonzalez said. “This is why you continue to work everyday, because it feels good at the end.”

In the seven games between July 22-29, Gonzalez hit eight home runs. He hit two home runs apiece in back-to-back games against the Reds and Cubs, the first Rockies slugger with consecutive multi-homer games since Vinny Castilla did it in 1995.

It was only six years ago that Nolan Arenado, the Rockies’ two-time Gold Glove third baseman, was a star on El Toro (Lake Forest, Calif.) High School’s varsity baseball team.

During his junior season at El Toro, in 2007-08, Arenado batted .456 with 32 RBIs and 33 runs while helping the Chargers win a Southern Section Division II championship and earning All-Southland team honors by the Los Angeles Times. His senior year, he had a .517 batting average, .615 on-base percentage, five homers and 14 doubles while, again, earning All-Southland honors by the L.A. Times.

Arenado was also a right-handed pitcher at El Toro, posting a two-year (2007-09) record of 3-1 with a 3.15 ERA over 20 innings with 17 hits, 26 strikeouts, eight walks and nine earned runs.

Rockies catcher Michael McKenry attempts to tag out Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy in a game at Coors Field last season. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Catcher Michael McKenry began the 2014 season as an afterthought — at least in my eyes — as the former Pirates backstop opened the season at Triple-A Colorado Springs while completing his recovery from 2013 knee surgery.

I admit that I overlooked his skills and his passion.

By the end of the summer, McKenry was one of the most pleasant surprises during an otherwise discouraging Rockies campaign. He began getting considerable playing time when starting catcher Wilin Rosario struggled with a wrist injury and lack of production at the plate. McKenry made the most of his chance, hitting a career-best .315 in 57 games, including 45 starts.Read more…

Michael Cuddyer turned down a $15.3 million qualifying offer from the Rockies to sign a two-year deal with the New York Mets on Monday. The move landed the Rockies a first-round draft pick in 2015 and Cuddyer a hefty raise.

But it also left the sports world baffled.

Rockies owner Dick Monfort said last season that he “would like to figure out a way to keep” Cuddyer this season, and it was known in and out of the clubhouse that manager Walt Weiss was a big fan of the 36-year-old outfielder.

“I’d love to have Cuddy back,” Weiss said near season’s end. “He’s a dream for a manager because he sets the standard high. … The leadership — some people may think that’s overrated, or you think it’s overrated until you don’t have it. Then you learn how valuable it is.”

In Cuddyer, the Mets gain a right fielder that may push Curtis Granderson to the other side of Citi Field:

Michael Cuddyer primarily has played RF in majors, not LF. So Granderson may be on the move to left. Grandy said last week that'd be OK.

Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox is tagged out at home by Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba in Game 3 of the 2007 World Series. (Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post)

The Giants on Wednesday won their third World Series Championship in five years, but in 2007 (I know, it seems so long ago), it was the Rockies who had a shot at the title.

Colorado entered the series having won 21 of its last 22 games, including sweeps of the Phillies in the NLDS and the Diamondbacks in the NLCS. Boston knocked off the Angels and Indians to make it to the Series and, because the American League won the 2007 All-Star Game, the Red Sox were granted home-field advantage.

Boston handedly won Game 1, 13-1, thanks in large part to Josh Beckett, who struck out nine batters. It then took Game 2, 2-1, despite Matt Holliday’s four hits and Todd Helton’s early groundout for a score.Read more…

Last December, the Rockies signed lefty Boone Logan to a three-year, $16.5 million deal — the biggest contract they had ever awarded a free-agent reliever. The former Yankee was supposed to provide a big, veteran arm for late-inning crunch time. He was supposed to be much more than simply a specialist vs. left-handed batters. The Rockies’ front office was convinced he was a significant upgrade to the bullpen.

Instead, Logan turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments of a disappointing season. It was as if the Rockies spent money for a BMW and ended up with a Chevy Chevette.

Logan’s ailing left elbow was the crux of the problem. He was in pain from Day 1 in a Rockies uniform, and truth be told, his elbow bothered him during much of his final season in New York, too.

He underwent surgery last October to remove a bone chip, and that was supposed to solve the problem. But the pain and stiffness lingered over the winter and the nine-year, big-league veteran missed most of spring training, making just a single Cactus League start.

He opened the season on the disabled list, but made his debut on April 9. He was terrific for the short term. Between April 9 and May 7 he made 13 appearances and posted a 2.45 ERA. He struck out 17, walked only four and served up only one home run.Read more…

Rookie left-hander Tyler Matzek made steady progress as his first big-league season went along. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

2014 Pitching Statistics

GP

GS

W-L

ERA

IP

H

R

ER

HR

BB

SO

WHIP

BAA

20

19

6-11

4.05

117.2

120

53

53

9

44

91

1.39

.267

Hope.

That’s what Tyler Matzek provided the Rockies during their dismal 2014 season, and it’s what he gives them as they look toward 2015.

The promise of top prospects Jon Gray and Eddie Butler grabbed headlines and sparked anticipation during spring training, but it was Matzek, the 2009 first-round draft pick, who had the breakthrough season. Is the 24-year-old left-hander a finished product? Nope. Did he experience some ruts in the road during his first season in the majors? Yep.

But he blossomed during the second half of the season and it was a pleasure to watch Matzek grow up — on the mound and in the clubhouse. By the end of the season he clearly belonged. Over his last six starts, Matzek went 4-2 with a 1.55 ERA, struck out 38 and walked just 14.

“I feel like I’ve been finding my groove the last two or three games,” Matzek said that day. “Just everything is working — fastball location, slider, changeup, curveball. Everything feels right right now.”

They didn’t spend all of that money because De La Rosa went 14-11 with a 4.10 ERA in 2014. They did it because he is 45-14 with a 3.98 ERA in 81 career games (76 starts) at Coors Field.

When you find a pitcher who not only survives at Coors Field but actually thrives in that hitters’ paradise, you hold on to him for dear life.

That doesn’t make De La Rosa a great pitcher, it makes him a very good pitcher at Coors Field, which in the Rockies’ world makes him an ace. Like most of his teammates, De La Rosa was bad on the road this season: 4-9 with a 5.09 ERA, with opposing hitters batting .247 against him. At home, he was 10-2 with a 3.08 ERA and a .228 batting average against.

De La Rosa turns 34 in April, but he’s throwing the ball with heat again. According to FanGraphs, his average fastball velocity was 93.3 MPH in 2010. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2011 and it took him two seasons to fully regain his arm strength, but his average fastball velocity was back up to 92.3 MPH in 2014.Read more…

This all started on March 26, 2014. During an 8-6 loss in a Cactus League game against San Francisco, Rockies owner Dick Monfort said he believed his team would win at least 90 games this season.

The math, of course, seemed questionable, so The Post’s Mark Kiszla questioned him about it.

“When Tulo and CarGo both play in the same game, I think we win 60 percent of the time,” Monfort said. “So you take 60 percent times 160 games and that’s 96 wins.”

His positive/idealistic/irrational calculation would have required the Rockies’ stars, Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, to have stayed healthy (they didn’t), and for Brett Anderson to have filled a void in the Rockies’ rotation (he didn’t).

The injuries piled up almost as quickly as the losses did, and on Sunday, against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, the Rockies closed out their season in the most predictable fashion: with a loss. Colorado was hammered 10-5 in L.A., bringing its 2014 record to 66-96.

What’s up: Hurdle has always been the biggest man in the room. His physical stature, booming voice, candor and take-on-the-world demeanor make him a leader. So it’s hard to think of Hurdle as vulnerable. And it was a bit shocking to see Hurdle limping to the mound last week in Atlanta to make a pitching change. I already knew Hurdle was in pain and needed hip-replacement surgery at the end of the season, but I didn’t realize how much pain he’s been in.

Background: Hurdle, who led the Rockies to the World Series in 2007, has the Pirates in the postseason for a second consecutive season. He was named National League manager of the year in 2013 and could win it again this year, although the Nationals’ Matt Williams is probably the favorite.Read more…

Rockies left-hander Brett Anderson suffered a back injury during a game against the Chicago Cubs in the fourth inning at Coors Field on Aug. 5. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)

The Brett Anderson conundrum: Do the Rockies keep the left-handed starter or let him walk on the basis of his injury history?

Whether or not the Rockies pick up the option on his contract is a $12 million question confronting the front office.

Anderson said Sunday that he’s progressing well after undergoing surgery last month to repair a ruptured disc in his lower back. He’ll begin core-strengthening exercises on Monday. Doctors have told him he’s doing fine, and the fact that he doesn’t have a history of back problems adds to a positive prognosis.

Still, he’s undergone Tommy John surgery, had a stress fracture in his foot, broke his index finger while batting early this season and injured his back, all in the span of four seasons. He’s made just 19 starts over the past three seasons. Is that the kind of pitcher a mid-market club an afford to pay $12 million?

Walt Weiss yells at home plate umpire John Tumpane as he is ejected in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Indians on Friday, May 30, 2014, in Cleveland. (Mark Duncan, The Associated Press)

Before the start of Wednesday’s series finale between the Rockies and Nationals at Coors Field, Colorado outfielder Brandon Barnes and Washington reliever Aaron Barrett got into a heated stare-down standoff.

And by heated, we mean it was hot outside.

In a 162-game season, an airing of grievances is occasionally necessary — and, in baseball tradition, the National Anthem standoff is one of those outlets.

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.